Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Dime boxes: The thrill of victory

You never know what you'll find in a dime box.

Last month, I was flipping through a dime box at a card show (in the same convention hall where the National is held when it comes to Chicago) when another collector started flipping through the same box. We stuck up a conversation, which I like. What better way to pass the time than flipping through a dime box and talking baseball cards? Anyways, he asked me what I collect, so if he saw anything in the part of the box he was looking though, he'd pull cards I needed. I couldn't exactly specify exactly what I collect (which you should know if you've read a couple of my posts so far), I have to see a card to know I want it a lot of the time. He told me that if I saw the card of Tom Glavine in hockey gear (pictured at the top of the post), he wanted it. It was his "white whale" of sorts. I remember thinking at the time, "Wow, that's quite a specific want. One card out of all these boxes here!". Unfortunately, I didn't find the card in that box, and the other guy bought his cards, after which he left with a "Happy collecting!" greeting to me.

An hour or two later, I found myself digging through another dime box (what a surprise!). And what did I find after about ten minutes of digging? The very card the guy was looking for. The Tom Glavine hockey card. It's too bad that the guy wasn't looking through that box at the same time I was, I would've had quite the surprise for him. I put it back because, after all, I don't collect Tom Glavine. But it would've been neat to see the guy's reaction after finding that one.

2005 Topps Update #UH329 Andrew McCutchen DP RC

2005 Topps Cracker Jack #201 Ian Kinsler SP RC

Maybe you'll find something that you can get something nice for in a trade. (These are both for trade, by the way, if anyone wants them!).Okay, I have to admit, the McCutchen came from a quarter box. But you catch my drift. There's usually a card or two among the piles and piles and piles of cards I usually come back with after a successful card show that I bought for the sole purpose of trading. Heck, these two cards are worth $21 together and I paid 35 cents for the pair. I even found a '97 Fleer David Ortiz RC (worth $25) and a $25 Nomar Garciaparra insert in dime boxes a while back, which I managed to turn into some HOF goodies for my collection via trades. It's almost like a "stock trading" aspect of baseball cards.

1998 Donruss Elite "Craftsmen" #24 Kenny Lofton /5000

1994 Upper Deck Minors #93 Jermaine Dye

2002 UD Piece of History "500 HR Club" #HR-6 Eddie Mathews

You might find some neat "hits" for your personal collection. Or maybe just a cool card that you never would've thought to look for before (like that Jermaine Dye card).

1994 Topps Gold #715 Hank Aaron

2000 Upper Deck Legends #109 Hank Aaron

And maybe you'll find a card or two of one of your favorites that, to your surprise, you didn't already have. And maybe it'll be one of the most epic cards you have (like the '94 Topps Aaron).

And all these cards came from dime boxes. (Okay, not the McCutchen.)

Next time you're at a card show, take a bit of time and dig through a dime box, if there are any. You might be surprised at what you can find.